How to Eat TOFU CHEESE -- Chinese FERMENTED TOFU Taste Test
# Exploring Fermented Tofu: A Gourmet Delight & More with Emmy
## Introduction: HelloFresh Collaboration
Welcome back, food enthusiasts! Today, we're thrilled to bring you a delightful exploration of fermented tofu, thanks to our partnership with HelloFresh. Known as America's leading meal kit service, HelloFresh offers convenience and quality, allowing you to enjoy gourmet meals effortlessly. Start your journey with six free meals by visiting [hellofresh.com](https://www.hellofresh.com) and using the code **EMMY60** for a $60 discount.
## Fermented Tofu: A Culinary Treasure
Fermented tofu, or tofu cheese, is a traditional Chinese condiment that has captured attention in recent food challenges. While some find it intense, its proper preparation reveals a culinary gem. This fermented delicacy comes in two main varieties: white and red, with an additional variant featuring chili and sesame oil.
## The Art of Preservation
The process of fermenting tofu involves preserving soybean blocks in a mixture of rice wine and salt. This method not only extends shelf life but also enhances flavor, making it a practical preservation technique for high-protein foods.
## Savoring the Experience: Proper食用Methods
Fermented tofu is best enjoyed as a condiment, adding depth to dishes rather than consumed alone. It pairs wonderfully with rice porridge or soups and can be incorporated into stir-fries, offering a salty, umami-rich element that elevates meals.
## HelloFresh: Modern Convenience Meets Gourmet Flavor
HelloFresh revolutionizes meal preparation by delivering pre-packaged, chef-designed kits to your doorstep. Each box contains carefully sourced ingredients, designed for quick assembly in 30 minutes or less. With options like Classic, Family, and Vegetarian plans, HelloFresh caters to diverse tastes while saving you time.
## Tasting Notes: A Culinary Adventure
Bought at a local Asian market for just $2.50 each, the white version of fermented tofu was opened first. Its flavor profile was noted, setting the stage for further explorations into chili and sesame oil variants, each offering unique nuances to culinary creations.
## Conclusion: Embrace New Flavors with HelloFresh
Fermented tofu is a versatile ingredient that can transform meals into gourmet experiences. Whether you're dipping into its umami-rich layers or enjoying HelloFresh's curated selections, there's something for every palate. Don't miss the opportunity to enhance your cooking repertoire and simplify mealtime with HelloFresh. Start your adventure today!
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enGreetings my beautiful lovelies! It'sEmmy. Welcome back! Today's video issponsored by HelloFresh:America's number one meal kit.Get started with six free meals, that's two freemeals with each of your first threeboxes. Head over to hellofresh.com anduse the code EMMY60 to receive a total of $60 off.Big thanks to HelloFresh!Now today I'm going to be tasting these:and this is fermented tofu, or fermented bean curd.This is also known as tofu cheese. Nowyou might have seen some of thesechallenges where people eat anentire block and proceed to gag andvomit and say this is the most terribledisgusting thing I've ever tastedbut like many of these kinds of stronglyfermented foods they are eating themincorrectly. So today I'm going to showyou one of the ways to eat this properly.So a little background about fermentedtofu: fermented tofu is a traditionalChinese condiment and it is exactly whatit says it is -- it's fermented tofu.There are two main versions: there's a white and a red.Now I have three versions here:this is the white; this is a chiliversion; and this is a chili version withsesame oil. The process of preservationis pretty much the same -- it's basicallytaking blocks of soybean, which is tofu,and then preserving it in a combinationof rice wine and salt; and this can bepreserved indefinitely as long as it'sbeneath the brine, it can be kept foreverpractically. So like a lot of otherfermented food this makes a lot of sensebecause it's a way to preserve foodparticularly one that's high in protein,for times in which you may not have it.So the correct way to eat fermented tofuis not to eat the entire cube.It is served like a condiment: just a littletiny bit goes a long way. There's a tonof salt in this so it's often eaten withrice porridge or congee or jok which islike a soup or gruel that's made with arice and some kind of broth or evenwater. So you just take a tiny littlepiece of the brick of tofu and you addit with your soup and eat it that way.It's also eaten with rice. For example, ifyou're making a vegetable braise youwould use one or two of these bricksand stir-fry in that and it would kindof melt and create a really flavorful,salty sauce. So before we get started letme tell you a little bit more aboutHelloFresh.So Hellofresh is a food deliveryservice that brings pre-packaged,pre-planned meals right to your doorstep.It takes the hassle out of groceryshopping and meal planning.So each box contains responsibly sourced ingredientsthat are pre-packaged and pre-measuredthat come right to your doorstep in aninsulated box.So the meals start at $6.99 per serving and are designed to come together in about thirty minutes;and oftentimes just use one pot so cleanupis an absolute breeze.So you can switch between plans: from the classic, thefamily, or the vegetarian.And rather than spending time grocery shopping and meal planning,you'll have more time doing the things you actually love to do.So get started with six meals free: that's two free meals in your first three boxes.Head over to HELLOFRESH.COM and usethe code Emmy60 to receive a total of$60 off. Big thanks to HelloFresh!Now let's go ahead and taste the tofu. Ibought these at my local Asian market --they were relatively inexpensive, abouttwo dollars and fifty cents or so foreach bottle. So the first one I'm goingto open is this one, and this is thewhite version: it's marinated bean cubesin seasoning sauce and cooking sauce.\"Ingredients: soy bean, water, cooking wineand salt.\"Oh boy. Can I open this? Let me get a glove.Okay.So these are related to stinky tofu,but stinky tofu is a little bit different.Stinky tofu has a very, very strong stinky smell to it; and that fermentation processincludes a little bit of milk, which Ithink helps with the creation of thatreally funky, funky smell. That is verymuch an acquired taste -- I adore it!I've recently had a stinky tofu hotpot which was amazing.Now, upon opening all this, this is releasing a smell that is a bit funky,but not nearly as funky as the stinky tofu.So let's open the white onefirst. And, if you see on top,there's some floaties. And yes, this has a very strong smell to it.It it does smell a bit like -- let's be real -- a bathroom --not-so-pleasant. Theres a little plastic pieceright there. So I'm gonna lift that out.Oh look at that! It's a little bit of a...there's a little mesh part here. I thinkit's to help keep the tofu submerged.Oh there it is. Look at that!All slimy....I'm gonna place the brick here.Wow, it's kind of mucilaginous --all kinds of great funk on that, I'm sure.Here's another one: that is the whitetofu.Okay let's do this one next: this is the chili tofu.This one, too, has a pieceof plastic hanging right there.Got a little bit of sesame oil, I think, inthere. Well, it smells a little bit like sesame oil:same, very, very strong kind ofbathroom-y, barnyard-y smell to it.Now the brine and this one's a littlebit different: it's got a kind of red/orange-ish hue to it.It's not so intimidating cuz it doesn't look so kind of milky:it's a little bit more pleasantlooking cuz it's got that red/orangecolor to it -- but equally stinky.And this one contains some sesame oil.Ooh!That one has some oil floating on top of it.Oh, same funky smell -- yep, for sure.This one doesn't have a little plastic thingyin it -- I don't see.This one's more pleasant looking because it has a littlebit of that chili flake on there.It does have the same sliminess as the others.Okay....All righty, now for the big taste test. Nowmy kitchen smells FUNKY!And as I was putting the lids on all of my jars, Ismelled my fingers, and they smelledterrible, just right there with a soileddiaper, that's what they smelled like.So having said that, let's do a taste test.I've got myself a bowl of jok, or riceporridge here. If you are interested inmaking this, I do have a very old recipethat I'll put the link up above and downbelow. This is comfort food to me. I lovethis stuff. And in this version, I've justkept things very, very simple and plain.I didn't even add any salt because I knowthat these are going to be very, verysalty. I've also got some green onionshere because that's what I love in myjok and I love white pepper as well. SoI'm going to add a little bit of whitepepper to this -- a lot of white pepper --because I love it. And I'm gonna add somegreen onions to my bowl of porridge here.So I took out several bricks to give youan idea of what the tofu looks like, buta little goes a long way -- you just needthe tiniest little bit -- like that much!And then you're gonna mix it into yourbite of porridge. I'm gonna use my spoon. And now we're going to eat it. Itadakimasu!Mm-hmm!That's good! And that actually is very similar tostinky tofu -- it's got a very strong, funkyflavor to it, but like funky cheeses, itmellows out. It smells pretty appallingbut when you taste it, all that appallingnesskind of dissipates.You're gonna have to take my word for it: it'sdelicious!It's got a really great funky flavor,like some really strong cheeses.It's salty and it's rich and you just needthe tiniest, tiniest little amount.So that was the white. Now let's try thechili version. I'm just gonna use myspoon here and mix it up in my next bite.Ooh, I like that one that one. That one has a littlebit of spice, but also a significantamount of sesame oil, which has kind ofits own skunky flavor in itself:kind of similar to hops. This one I feel like ismore purely kind of funk while this onehas more little notes of something else:a little bit of sesame oil; a little bitof chilli; but this one also to me tastesa little bit more winier than this one.This one is just funky. Mm-hmm. It's briny; it'sgot a little bit of tang to it;and just kind of more pure, likefunkiness; while this one has a little bitmore nuance in terms of it has anadditional flavor of sesame oil.Let's try this one this one too is supposed tohave some sesame oil in it.I'm gonna take a little bigger bite of that one.Let's try that one.Mm. Whoa!That one's really different: that's much morelike number one. It has much more of afunkier flavor to it. I'm gonna taste itagain -- not that much; just a bit.It just dropped on my counter.That one has a little bit more sweetness to it.It still has some tanginess from thebrine, and definitely salty...and funky, butless of the sesame oil flavor that I wasexpecting it to have because it listed it on the jar.I think the winner for meis this one: this is Kong Ki brandfermented chili bean curd. I really likethe sesame oil in this one.Mm-hmm!Ooh, that was a big salty bite. Reallynice balance of sesame oil flavors; funkytofu; really soft, creamy texture. I forgotto mention that all of these have a verysoft, dense, creamy texture,not at all like tofu bean curd that youexpect to be kind of bouncy and rubbery --not at all. Very, very smooth and soft.So if I were to think of a flavor analogy, Iwould say this is kind of similar to oilpacked salted anchovies, and howsometimes they're used in sauces-- in Italian cookery -- they're used in hotolive oil to create a really flavorfulsalty sauce.This is just like that: it just kind of melts away. It has its own inherent funkiness,but so flavorful and delicious.That's what fermented tofu is like. Mm-hmm.So, things to remember about fermented tofu:a little goes a long way; itdefinitely might be an acquired tastefor you. If you want to try it, Irecommend putting it in a dish, using itas a flavoring agent rather than justhaving it straight up. This might be alittle bit tough for some people.All righty! So there you have it: a little fermented tofu taste test and how to eat it.I hope you guys attempt to try eating something like this;I know it can be a little bit intimidating, but I'm all about trying new things,because you never know when you might fall in love.And big thanks to Hellofresh: getstarted with six free meals: that's twofree meals in your first three boxes.Head over to hellofresh.com and usethe code emmy60 to receive a total of$60 off.Thank you guys once again.Please share this video with your friends;follow me on social media; like; subscribe;and I shall see you in the next one!Toodaloo! Take care! Byee!!!All of this tofu! Yeah, yeah! Another bite.... Ohh no.... It's on my counter.\n"